The East-Northeasternmost Point of the U.S.

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Above: This is the east-northeasternmost point of the U.S. -- or as close as you can get to it. This is just short of the Custom's Building at the U.S./Canada border near Hamlin, Maine. (1:14)

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The east-northeasternmost point of the United States is located near the town of Hamlin, Maine in the extreme northern part of the state. Three of the 16 extreme compass points are located in this area:

The north-northeasternmost point of the U.S. is near Madawaska, Maine.

The northeasternmost point of the U.S. is about 20 miles to the east, between the towns of Grand Isle and Van Buren, Maine.

The east-northeasternmost point of the U.S. is another 25 miles to the east, along the U.S./Canada border near the town of Hamlin, Maine.

An ambitious person can visit all three points in one day and that’s exactly what I hoped to do. I had camped the previous evening in a state park in New Hampshire and got up at 5 a.m. for the long journey to northern Maine. In my previous cross-country journeys, I’d traveled across central and coastal Maine, but I’d never been to this part of the state. Northern Maine is a lot different than the rest of the state, as I discovered. It’s very remote and rural, and it feels almost like part of Canada rather than the U.S.

Around 4 p.m. and after a long day of driving across the rolling hills of Maine, I reached the town of Madawaska, which according to a sign on the outskirts of town, claims it’s the “Northeastern town of the United States.” Well to be technical, Madawaska (population 4,035) is the north-northeasternmost town of the United States while its neighbor, Grand Isle, Maine (population 435), about 25 miles down U.S. Highway 1, is the northeasternmost town. Nevertheless, I liked their spirit.

It was getting late in the day and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to visit all three geographic extreme sites before sunset. And on top of that, I was planning to camp that evening at Aroostook State Park, which according to my map was at least an hour past the third site. So needless to say, I had to hustle.

After visiting the north-northeasternmost point near Madawaska, Maine (see story) and the northeasternmost point near Van Buren, Maine (see story), I got back on Highway 1 around 6 p.m. and continued heading east. A half-hour later, I pulled off Highway 1, which veered to the south to the city of Caribou. I continued east on Highway 1A, following the St. John River past the small village of Hamlin. Up ahead, in the dusk, I could see the U.S./Canadian Customs building so I pulled off the road and got out my GPS.

Yep, this was it. According to my Garmin, the east-northeasternmost point was about 100 yards to the north through dense vegetation. It’s privately-owned land here and I figured I’d look pretty suspicious to any Border Patrol folks if they saw me scrambling through the thick underbrush right next to the border, so I decided to call it good. This was as close as a person could feasibly get to the east-northeasternmost point of the United States. I’ve had trouble before, in the U.S. and in other countries, when I tried to film a Customs building or border crossing, so I tried to be discreet as I made my short video clip.

After taking a few photos in the fading light, I hopped back into the Tacoma and drove an hour to the bustling city of Presque Isle, where I got some KFC take-out, then drove on in the darkness to Aroostook State Park, Maine’s oldest state park.

It was pretty chilly that night, dipping down below freezing. The next morning, as I sat at my picnic table eating breakfast in the nearly-empty and frosty campground, I thought back on the hectic day before: 14 hours of driving, nearly 500 miles, and best of all, three of the 16 extreme geographic compass point in the U.S. Now it was on to the Maine coast for two more extreme points.

How to Get There:

To get to this point, travel on Highway 1 in northern Maine to the town of Van Buren, then head east on Highway 1A, following the St. John River. In about 20 miles, Highway 1A veers to the south. Follow the sign that points to the Canadian Border near the town of Hamlin, and park just short of the Custom's Building at the border crossing. The east-northeasternmost point is on the St. John River, about 100 yards to the north through the dense underbrush.

The East-Northeasternmost Point

The end of the road. This is the Customs Building at the U.S./Canada border crossing near Hamlin, Maine.

My truck at the east-northeasternmost point of the U.S. in the fading light.

The east-northeasternmost point of the U.S. is on the St. John River about 100 yards behind me through the dense vegetation.

Above: The east-northeasternmost point of the U.S. is on the St. John River at the U.S./Canada border near the town of Hamlin, Maine. I got as close as I could, considering the dense vegetation, about 100 yards to the southwest of the red dot. I created the blue line, with a bearing of 157.5 degrees, to help me determine the east-northeasternmost point.